Data-Driven Approach to Video Poker Domination

Video poker has an intriguing dichotomy – it combines the entertainment and visual engagement of a slot machine with the mental strategy of a table game like blackjack or poker. This blend gives video poker players a rare opportunity among casino offerings: the potential to gain a mathematical edge over the house by using optimal strategy. To effectively tilt the odds into the player’s favor, however requires an analytical approach based on crunching the numbers behind different video poker machines and deploying statistical systems to boost payouts over the long run. This data-centric method of attacking video poker eschews hunches and trusting one’s gut in favor of research, discipline and probability.

Picking Full Pay Machines Pumps Up Potential Returns

All video poker games at Bet and Play Casino are not created equal when it comes to their payout percentages. The full pay variant for popular games like Jacks or Better can pay out over 99% to players using flawless strategy while short pay alternatives may only offer 95% returns to even expert play. This difference dramatically impacts how much the house edge is over huge sample sizes of hands.

Payout Percentages By Video Poker Game Type

Only by tracking down elusive full pay machines can advantage players obtain the maximum mathematically possible returns. This often requires research into pay tables before hitting the casino floor to pinpoint which devices offer enhanced schedules.

Strategy Charts Convert Chaos Into Certainty

Unlike traditional poker played against opponents, the computer dealt random hands in video poker allow for the creation of definitive strategy charts dictating the mathematically optimal play for every combination. By religiously consulting these move charts, players can convert the randomness into a certainty of getting the highest mathematically expected value from every hand.

A strategy chart for the common Jacks or Better video poker game showing the optimal move to make – hold or draw – for every possible starting 5 card hand.

Printed move sheets are available for purchase online but many video poker machines even have strategy charts built into their interface menus that can be pulled up between hands. By eliminating second guessing and human error, these charts enable flawless statistical play.

Bankroll Buffers Absorb Losing Streaks

Even with perfect strategy and full pay machines, video poker results involve tremendous variance in the short run. Players may hit negative streaks losing 10, 20 or even 50+ times their typical average bet despite making all the right moves. To withstand these inevitabilities without busting one’s entire bankroll – or being forced to drop down in wager size after a big loss – advantage players utilize bankroll management. This involves having an allocated video poker budget many times greater than the average bet size.

A common formula is to have at least 50 to 100 big bets to absorb variance swings. So with an average $1 per hand wager, a player would want to have $50 to $100 set aside. As the bankroll grows via payouts, the bet size can be gradually increased while staying proportional.

Bankroll management combined with the aforementioned statistical strategies enable video poker professionals to surf the variance waves for long haul profits. While short term results waiver wildly, over time the math prevails and skilful play gets rewarded. By leaning heavily on the data around game mechanics, payouts and probabilities, players flip a game built to beat them into one they can nearly always beat. This empirical approach allows them to gain an almost scientific certainty around beating the house over time rather than hoping to get lucky.